During the recent school holidays, seven students were able to experience the real world of work, undertaking work placement in a number of different settings. Work placement at OLMC is available for students to undertake during school holiday periods. It may be Work Experience, arranged with employers in industries and professional roles that a student is considering for the future, or Structured Workplace Learning, arranged with employers in industries and professional roles that are directly related to Certificate level qualifications being studied by a student in either a VCE or VCAL program. There are some Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications that require students to undertake compulsory work placement to successfully complete a unit or units and gain the full qualification while other VET courses recommend students participate in work placement in order to apply learned concepts and skills in a real world, professional environment.
The students who undertook work placement in April are all enrolled in VET courses this year; 6 in the Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance run within the school timetable onsite at OLMC and 1 in the Certificate III in Kitchen Operations being offered at William Angliss Institute. Their placements were in the following workplaces and we are grateful for the support, insight and experience offered by these generous employers:
Kieser Heidelberg
Leith Park Aged Care
Heritage Care, Epping Gardens Aged Care
Austin Hospital Dialysis Unit
Austin Rise Bed and Breakfast
Students who are undertaking a VET study as part of their senior school program, or students in Years 10 - 12 wanting to undertake work experience are encouraged to speak with Mrs Williams, OLMC Careers Coordinator to discuss the requirements and options of undertaking a work placement during future school holiday periods.
The reflections below highlight the powerful impression of work placement on a student:
In the first week of the school holidays, I had the opportunity to undertake work placement at Kieser Heidelberg, which is next door to OLMC. Before going there I didn't know what to expect nor much about what the company does. Over the four days I got to experience a variety of things including overseeing physiotherapy and assisted training sessions as well as getting the chance to try out many of the strength machines myself. One of my favourite highlights of this experience was getting quizzed on what part of the body the machine C7 works and being able to answer correctly thanks to the staff who would spend their time going through each machine and explaining in detail its focus for the body. As a result of my placement, I now know what frozen shoulder is and how to treat it. I enjoyed the four days a lot and it give me a good insight into what a potential career in physio or exercise science is like. Gianna G, 10MSHO
My placement at Leith Park Aged Care was a truly amazing and eye-opening experience. I learnt many different things about the Aged Care Industry and interacted with so many lovely residents. Their staff kindly educated me on the purpose of many activities and gave me an insight into resident behaviour and conditions like dementia and osteoporosis. I made great connections with both staff and residents of Leith Park and I was even lucky enough to go back to assist in their ‘Family Fun Afternoon’. This placement opened my eyes to the numerous careers available within Aged Care and was an overall excellent experience that I am very grateful to have had.
Madeline M, 11AMJE
And for our local Bed and Breakfast owner, Beverley Sheppard of Austin Rise Bed and Breakfast, her work placement student (Ella K, 11AGGL) made such an impression that she felt compelled to share the following to her business Facebook page:
May I introduce Everlasting Ella?
I’ve even shown her my secret cellar.
Ella has been my work experience girl,
She’s worked around me in a whirl.
I love her beautiful long dark hair,
Her gentleness and flexibility is rare,
Ella can draw and create art,
Her health is good and so is her heart.
She can make a perfect poached egg,
I didn’t need to ask twice or beg.
I’ve loved having Ella here this week,
Happiness, fun and acknowledgment we seek.
Parents and friends of the OLMC Community who are willing to host a student for work placement, either as Work Experience or Structured Workplace Learning are warmly invited to contact Melinda Williams via email – mwilliams@olmc.vic.edu.au In particular, we are desperately seeking placements for our Allied Health Assistance students who require 80 hours of work placement to complete their Certificate course. I would love to hear from any allied health professionals who may be in a position to host a student for a working week sometime in 2022.